How do you plan a college reunion? First decide whether to join your school’s official reunion weekend or run an independent event. Then pick the group (a class year, a team, a band, a chapter or a dorm), find people through the alumni office and LinkedIn, and book a date and venue. Price tickets by age, and give alumni who live far away a way to join remotely.
A college reunion differs from a high school one in three ways. The class is bigger and spread across the country. Friendships run through teams, chapters and clubs. And an alumni office usually has its own reunion weekend, rules and mailing list. This guide covers those differences. For the general committee, timeline and ticketing steps, see our guide to organizing a class reunion.
01 / THE ALUMNI OFFICE
Should You Work With the Alumni Office or Plan on Your Own?
Call the alumni office first. Schools such as Cornell and Wittenberg hold an official reunion weekend for milestone classes, and some help affinity groups with email, registration and campus rooms. In exchange, they set the date and often sign the contracts. Planning on your own gives you control of the date, price and guest list.
Official weekends often run on a fixed cycle. Cornell’s 2026 Reunion ran June 4–7 for undergraduate classes ending in 1 and 6. Cornell Law School’s reunion books hotel blocks and dorm rooms through registration. Wittenberg University invites its 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th reunion classes back for events during Homecoming, Reunion and Family Weekend.
Help for smaller groups varies. Wittenberg assigns a staff liaison to affinity reunions, sends save-the-date emails and hosts a registration page. In return, the office approves the venue, signs the contracts and collects the registrations. That suits a group that wants help, less so one that wants its own date and price.
| Question | Official reunion weekend | Independent group reunion |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the date? | The school, often on a five-year cycle | Your committee |
| Who reaches classmates? | The alumni office, by email and mail | You, from your own list, LinkedIn and group chats |
| Who signs contracts and takes the money? | Often the school | Your committee |
| What does it include? | Campus-wide events, tours, talks, family activities | Only what your group plans |
| Who can come? | Everyone in the reunion classes, plus guests | Whoever you invite: a team, a band, a chapter, a dorm floor |
| Best for | Milestone years, big classes, first-time organizers | Affinity groups, off-cycle years, groups that want their own price |
A third option: register for the official weekend, then hold your own group dinner on the Friday night. You get the campus events without planning them, plus time with the people you lived with.
02 / AFFINITY GROUPS
Which Group Should the Reunion Be For?
Pick the group people actually miss. Often that is a team, a marching band, a Greek chapter, a dorm floor or a club, more than the whole class. Wittenberg University calls these affinity groups: people with a shared interest who may not share a graduating year.
- Teams: build it around a home game and invite former coaches.
- Band, choir or theater: ask the director about an alumni section at a game or concert, then hold your own dinner.
- Greek chapters: the chapter’s alumni board may already keep a roster. Ask before you build your own.
- Dorms, clubs and majors: book a restaurant’s private room, or borrow a lounge through a faculty adviser.
Decide early whether partners and children are invited. It changes the venue, the menu and the price.
03 / FINDING ALUMNI
Where Do You Find College Classmates?
Start with the alumni office, which may email your group for you even if it won’t share addresses. Then search the school’s LinkedIn page, where you can filter alumni by the years they attended. Old rosters, chapter boards, team pages and group chats fill in the rest. Ask each person you find for two more names.
Expect rules around school data. Wittenberg asks volunteers to sign a confidentiality agreement before they receive alumni contact data. LinkedIn’s alumni tool, launched in 2013, shows where a school’s graduates live and work, filtered by graduation dates. Lead every message with the group you shared. Our guide to finding classmates covers the full search method and how to split it across a committee.
Sample outreach message (email or LinkedIn)
Subject: [Group name] reunion, [Month Year]: are you in?
Hi [First name],
It’s [Your name], [your role or year] from [team, band, chapter or dorm] at [School]. A few of us are putting together a reunion for everyone who was part of [group] between [years].
We’re looking at [date or weekend] in [city], around [homecoming / the official reunion weekend / a home game]. There will be a remote option for anyone who can’t travel.
Could you reply with the best email for you, and the names of anyone from our years you’re still in touch with? Details and RSVP will be here: [link].
Hope to see you there,
[Your name], [phone]
04 / TIMING
When Should a College Reunion Happen?
Tie the date to something already on the campus calendar: the official reunion weekend, homecoming, or a big home game. Alumni find it easier to justify the trip. The trade-off is hotels. Rooms near campus fill early on those weekends, so book a block as soon as you pick the date.
Homecoming brings a game and tailgates, so check whether tailgate spaces must be reserved. A quiet weekend means cheaper hotels and easier bookings, but you supply every reason to come. Alumni who travel need notice, so send the save-the-date at least six months ahead. The month-by-month planning timeline works for alumni groups too.
One Link for the Whole Team, Band or Chapter
Put the schedule, hotels, RSVPs and payments on one reunion website, and see who’s coming as replies arrive.
Launch My Reunion Site05 / CAMPUS VENUES
What Rules Come With a Campus Venue?
Expect a signed agreement, proof of insurance and strict alcohol rules. Campus spaces booked by outside groups often require a certificate of insurance, and any caterer serving alcohol usually needs its own liquor liability coverage. Ask about these before you fall in love with the old student union ballroom.
The University of Missouri–St. Louis, for example, asks outside groups to sign a facilities agreement and send a certificate of insurance at least two weeks ahead, with general liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. A caterer serving alcohol must carry its own liquor liability policy.
Also ask who is allowed to book, whether you must use campus catering, whether you can print the school’s name and logo on shirts, and about step-free access and parking. If the rules are too tight, book a restaurant near campus instead.
06 / HYBRID
How Do You Include Alumni Who Live Far Away?
Add a short video call to the main event, held at a set time so remote alumni can plan for it. Keep it to the toasts, a slideshow and a round of hellos rather than a full evening on a laptop. Name one person to look after the remote guests.
Cornell offers a free Virtual Reunion package with livestreamed events. For a team or chapter, a laptop and speaker are often enough. Our guide to a hybrid or virtual class reunion covers the equipment, platforms and time zones.
On AmazingReunion, remote alumni can still use the guest hub: who’s coming, the itinerary, the photo gallery and chat.
“People don’t miss a class of 2,000 strangers. They miss the twelve people they rode the team bus with.”
07 / COSTS AND PRICING
How Should You Price a College Reunion?
Total the shared costs, add a 10% buffer, set a low price for kids, and divide the rest among the adults. Travel and hotel rooms stay separate, because each alum books their own. Let remote alumni join for free, and offer an optional donation for anyone who wants to chip in.
In this example, a team holds a Saturday dinner on homecoming weekend for 60 adults, 15 children aged 5–12 and 5 children under five. The prices are examples, so ask your venue for a quote.
| Cost item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Private event room near campus | $800 |
| Catered dinner, adults (60 × $40) | $2,400 |
| Kids’ meals (15 × $15) | $225 |
| Drinks package | $400 |
| Screen and speaker rental for the remote call | $250 |
| Name tags, printing and decorations | $150 |
| Shared costs | $4,225 |
| 10% buffer | $422.50 |
| Amount to collect | $4,647.50 |
Kids pay $20 each, which brings in $300. The adults cover the remaining $4,347.50. Divided by 60, that is $72.46, rounded up to $75 per adult, with children under five free. The ticket sales come to $4,800, which covers the costs and the buffer.
On AmazingReunion you set a price for each age group, and guests see an estimate of their total as they RSVP. Card processing and a $2.50 handling fee are added on top, so a $75 ticket costs the guest $80.38 and the reunion receives the full $75. Guests can pay in parts, with a $10 minimum per payment. For the full setup, see how to collect reunion fees online.
Bring the Old Crew Back Together
Send invitations, price tickets by age, and track who has paid from one reunion website.
Launch My Reunion SiteFree to start. Includes RSVP, Payments & Photo Sharing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you plan a college reunion?
Start by asking the alumni office whether your class or group can join the official reunion weekend. Then choose the group, build the contact list, set a date, book a venue that allows outside groups, and price tickets by age. Give alumni who live far away a remote option.
Should a college reunion be held during homecoming?
It can work well, because the campus is lively and some alumni are already coming back for the game. The trade-off is that hotels near campus fill early and cost more. Book a room block as soon as the date is set, or choose a quieter weekend.
Can the alumni office help with an affinity reunion?
Some offices do. Wittenberg University, for example, assigns a staff liaison to affinity reunions, sends save-the-date emails and runs online registration. Ask your own school what it offers, because support differs from campus to campus.
How much should a college reunion cost per person?
Add up the shared costs, add a 10% buffer, set a lower price for kids, and divide the rest among the adults. In our example, a Saturday dinner for 80 people comes to $75 per adult and $20 per child, with children under five free.
Sources
- Wittenberg University: Plan a Reunion (affinity reunions, staff support, confidentiality agreement, milestone classes)
- Cornell University: Reunion 2026 (dates, reunion classes, Virtual Reunion package)
- Cornell Law School: Reunions (hotel blocks and dorm rooms booked through registration)
- University of Missouri–St. Louis: Insurance Coverage (requirements for outside groups using campus space)
- LinkedIn: Start Mapping Your Career With LinkedIn Alumni (alumni tool and graduation-date filter)
Sources checked October 30, 2026.
Holding the reunion out of state? Our state guides cover lodging, dining and getting around with a large group. Start at the Reunion Planning Guides hub, or compare the best class reunion websites.
Ken O.
Founder of AmazingReunion and veteran reunion organizer who has coordinated 50+ family gatherings across the US.
